Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Y'all may have known me long enough to remember my BLONDE PHASE... I remember the ceremonial night perfectly. It was a haze of beer and ASMR as my friend rubbed bleach through my brunette locks. Then midway we ran out of bleach and had to drive to CVS with half my scalp aluminum foiled to buy more... after a couple deep conditionings my hair was fire blonde! The bad news? My mom hated it SO MUCH she sent me to the most expensive salon in town and forced me to have Steve Wynn's hairdresser dye it another more "palatable" platinum shade. Then my already thin hair fell out from the maintenance. Ugh. It was a big fat follicular mess.Come 2014, I'm back to brown and have a pound of 22 inch extensions installed to cover for my balding scalp. But brown can be so so soooooooo BORING. That's why I went blonde in the first place! (And also I kinda have a Debbie Harry vibe with lighter locks... LITERALLY ME.) Fortunately, HAIR MAKEUP EXISTS DEEZ DAYZ. I'd heard of hair chalk and tinted spray from Claire's, but not the next level of non-permanent color. Enter Redken Color Rebel Hair Makeup. Makeup. Is that not the most perfect way to describe a noncommittal color transformation? "Oh, I'm just putting some foundation on my hair -- I'll be out in a minute!" That's literally what Color Rebel is. Foundation. FOR YA HAIRS, PEOPLE. YA HAIRS.And, like pretty much every Redken hair product, Color Rebel is heaven. You apply it through a sponge connected to a screw-top bottle that releases small rations of liquidy, jelly goodness every time you twist it. The application is extremely clean and the product itself doesn't end up all over your counter, your sink, your mirrors, your car interior, wherever it is you decide to give yourself an existential breakdown makeover... jk. But seriously. It's so easy to manage and even easier to apply. Just screw the top and swipe that shiiiii all over the place!I tested out violet ("Purple Riot") and red ("Red-y To Rock"). Couldn't resist mixing them together and doing a cray cray Demi Lovato look. When I saw how it turned out I FREEEEEEEEEEEEEKED. I pressed my hand against the glass and let my breath fog up the bathroom mirror as I asked my spankin' new ombre locks "where have you been? All my life?" (Rihanna voice naturally.)

Forget permanent hair dye and just load up on the tinted makeup. It washes out in two shampoos, so theoretically you could be Nicole Richie over the weekend and Plain Jane by Monday morning, just in time for work.Watcha think?? Should I make temporary hair color a permanent routine?? Get a couple bottles of your own at Redken's Color Rebel makeup station! Plenty of shades to choose from including "Gilty As Charged" (yellow gold) and "Punked Up Pink" (fuchsia). In the words of a boring blonde who desp needs some hair makeup of her own: LOVES IT.This post is powered by Brandbacker. <3Everything is infinite,Bebe

Monday, November 17, 2014

Since my induction into makeup guru-ship (jk) I've learned that my favorite beauty secret is using mascara as a sculpting medium for my eyebrows. The tinted gel lifts every follicle and, like glue or hairspray, hardens them in place. Trouble is, MY EYEBROW HAIRS ARE OBVI NOT JET BLACK. And there's no 'maybe' in question: I'm not born with it -- blame Maybelline.

As much as I love how effective traditional mascara can be at sculpting, defining, and holding together the specific shape of my eyebrows, I don't love how dark it is, how easily it stains my skin, and how long it takes to dry. Fortunately, there's a product on the market that has all the precision and reliability of a heavy duty mascara but none of the mess. It's Colour Strokes Brow Tint by Lashem!

BEFORE

AFTER

Flake-proof, smudge-proof, and paraben free, this magic wand really does deliver in a few strokes or less. I tested out the brunette shade and it took no more than 10 seconds to apply (per eyebrow of course, anyone who spends less than 10 seconds on both their brows needs to speak to a life coach asap!!) I was surprised to see that the gel itself is a metallic bronze brown -- not dark and matte, but glittery and high-sheen.

As soon as the brow tint dried in natural light, I died, went to heaven, negotiated with a couple angels and hired a ghost intern to write this post for me. It's a perfect product. Sculpts, lifts, emboldens (have wanted to use that word for a while now) - basically does everything a fancy paintbrush would do. And it's elitist approved!

What do you think of my bare brows versus the finished product?? I can get used to just a few swipes a day... the whole five-step "filling in with eyeshadow first" process feels unjustified now that I know I can do better in less time.

Thanks for the chance to level up my brow game, Lashem! It's what I do best. ;)

Monday, November 3, 2014

I know, amazing pun. We all know I'm not a patriot so I supplanted the red for shred. Enter my spankin' new boyfriend jeans and oversize blue flannel from Break Ice Trends. I originally intended to couple these pants with suede heels and a leather clutch purse, but on the way to the shooting location with my photographer I donned a pair of beat up white Keds for comfort. Then I saw my reflection in a mirror passing by and realized this, this walking from one place to the next, is the real subject of my vision as a blogger. The candid moments, not the staged glamour. So here's a real outfit for a real mission.